L’affaire Cassez, the farce that deceived a country

The “key testimony” given by the alleged kidnapper David Orozco, on the kidnapping case against the Frenchwoman, Florence Cassez in May of 2009 and which the Mexican authorities assured that with this testimony proves the guiltiness of the French citizen in the kidnapping of a mother and son and a young man. One year later is revealed that Orozco’s testimony was made after being threatened and tortured by agents of the Federal Police, formaly the Federal Agency of Investigation (AFI).

According to the court document signed by judge Eduardo Javier Saenz Hernández and obtained by France Press Agency (AFP), Mr. Orozco denied belonging to any kidnapping gang and assures that he is an honest merchant that was kidnapped by a group of masked men that made him believed that they were drug traffickers, then few hours later he realized that they were policemen. He points out as well, that before giving his statement for the media, he was tortured with electric shock, beaten and threaten to kidnapped his wife and children if he didn’t declared against Cassez and Vallarta, and also claimed that he never knew them.

David Orozco's first statment

Video taken from Youtube RadioTreceVideo

It has been almost five years since the country witness what supposed to be the biggest blow against the organized crime ever seen on live TV. A group of well built, hooded and well armed police agents, something like Robo Cops, appeared on the TV screens, a news reporter narrating the scene, while the camera follow the AFI's agents breaking into the cottage, located inside the ranch “Las Cabañitas”, where Florence Cassez, her former boyfriend, Israel Vallarta and the three victims where found. It all turn out to be a montage or as the former director of the AFI and current Federal Secretary of Public Security, Genaro Garcia Luna, likes to call “a recreation”, which he is misusing the term, because the French citizen and Vallarta were detained on the highway in the outskirts of Mexico City towards the city of Cuernavaca a day before it was televise, that looked more like a scene of one of Televisa’s soap operas.

Since the case reemerged in the media on March of 2009, few weeks before the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy arrive to the country for a state visit, and where it was expected that he was going to approach this issue with President Calderon and asking to extradite Florence Cassez under the Treaty of Strasbourg. This outraged the so-called activist for victims of kidnapping, Isabel Miranda de Wallace, which seems she became the unconditional of Genaro Garcia Luna, the man behind this farce who has stolen four years and half of the freedom of this innocent young woman. Despite all the flaws in the case, beginning with the montage, Mrs. Wallece has been behind the monstrous image that many still has of Florence Cassez, thanks to all the influence she has in the media. Is clearly evident that she has also advised the victims, at some point, what to say to the media, at least in the case of Ezequiel Elizalde, the third victim, made it clear to the French journalist, Anne Vigna and France 2 “Envoyé Special” crew during an interview, and which Vigna recreates in the book “Peines Mexicaines, Florence Cassez, Jacinta, Ignacio et autres”, the conversation she had off camera with Ezequiel, where he began to claim that the questions that they did were harsh and that he thought they were journalist recommended by Mrs. Wallace.

As time passes by, the truth is coming out in favor of Miss Cassez and since more than a year ago that this case caught my attention, I began to have my suspicions that it was another prank pull off by Mr. Garcia Luna, and at that moment there was a lot of facts that back this, by giving a brief look to his negative background. As I study more the case and get first hand information, I could say without any doubt that this case exhibits shamefully, how rotten and corrupt is the justice system in this country.

Florence Cassez's voice mesage to the Mexicans

"I will fight and keep fighting until the end, against the injustice which I live, the uncertainty around me, here in the Woman's prision of Tepepan..."

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1 Comments

David (not verified) - Thu, 06/10/2010 - 04:45

Thank you for this brilliant account on Cassez' case and the situation of justice in mexico.
Mr Infante was indeed one of the first journalists in Mexico to express publicly his suspicions about Cassez' apparently non equivocal guiltiness. Thank you for going beyond fake evidence.

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Nowadays Mexico is synonymous of drugs, violence, death and corruption. The country famous for it’s paradise beaches, pyramids, tequila, mariachis, cuisine, handicraft and colorful traditions have been overshadowed by the current situation. With this blog I will expose what is happening in Mexico away from the everyday headlines. I will focus on a wide variety of topics, whether it’s cultural, society, entertainment, current events, curiosities and anything that is relevant in this multicultural country. A blog by Gabriel Infante